Malatang — Sichuan's Build-Your-Own Numbing-Spicy Bowl

Soak the glass noodles in cold water for at least 20 minutes before you start cooking — they need to be fully softened and pliable before they go into the broth. Also soak dried wood ear mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes if using dried; trim the tough base after soaking. Prepare all your chosen bowl ingredients so everything is ready to go in sequence: slice or portion proteins, trim mushrooms and greens, halve the tofu puffs.

Build the mala broth base. Heat the beef tallow or lard in a medium saucepan or wok over high heat until it shimmers. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and dried whole chilies and stir-fry for 20 seconds — they will sizzle and the peppercorns will begin to pop. Immediately add the doubanjiang and stir vigorously, pressing the paste against the hot pan, for 30–40 seconds. This is the crucial step: you are blooming the paste in fat, cooking off the raw fermented edge and extracting the fat-soluble spice compounds. The fat should turn a deep brick red.

Add the smashed garlic and sliced ginger and stir for another 30 seconds. Pour in the bone broth — stand back as it will splatter. Add the dark soy sauce and rock sugar. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes to let the flavours meld. Do not simmer longer than this — the Sichuan peppercorn numbing compound (sanshool) turns bitter with prolonged heat. Taste the broth: it should be intensely savoury, fruity-spicy from the chilies, and beginning to produce a slight tingle on your tongue. Adjust salt if needed.

Make the sesame dipping sauce while the broth simmers. Put the sesame paste in a small bowl and loosen it with 2–3 tablespoons of the hot broth, stirring until smooth (Chinese sesame paste is thick and needs liquid to become scoopable). Add the minced garlic, black vinegar, and white sugar. Stir well and taste — it should be nutty, garlicky, slightly sour, and rich. Add the chopped cilantro just before serving. Set aside at room temperature; this sauce is meant to be a cool contrast to the hot broth.

Cook the bowl ingredients in the simmering broth in order of cooking time, from longest to shortest. Start with the tofu puffs and wood ear mushrooms: lower them into the broth and cook for 3–4 minutes until the tofu puffs have swelled and become deeply saturated with spiced broth, squeezing one gently to confirm it is hot throughout. Transfer to your serving bowls with a slotted spoon.

Add the enoki mushrooms and soaked glass noodles to the broth and cook for 2–3 minutes. The noodles are done when they are slippery, springy, and translucent all the way through. They should absorb the red-tinted broth and become spice-stained. Transfer to the bowls.

Add the thin-sliced beef or lamb to the simmering broth. Separate the slices as they go in so they cook evenly. Thin-sliced meat (shabu-shabu style) takes 20–40 seconds — watch for the colour to change from pink to cooked throughout with no remaining raw pink. Do not overcook or the slices will tighten. Transfer to the bowls immediately.

Finally, add the bok choy or spinach to the broth and cook for 10–20 seconds, just until wilted. Leafy greens need almost no time — they are done the moment they turn bright green and collapse slightly. Transfer to the bowls.

Ladle a generous amount of the hot mala broth over each bowl — enough to partially submerge the ingredients but not drown them. Serve immediately with the sesame dipping sauce on the side in a small bowl. To eat: pick up ingredients from the bowl and dip briefly into the sesame sauce between bites. The contrast between the intensely spiced broth-saturated ingredients and the cool, nutty sauce is the point. Adjust spice at the table with chili oil or extra doubanjiang if you want more heat.